Perhaps Morris just meant they have the best record, but that’s not true anyway. (Atlanta is 5-2.) And the reporters on the scene didn’t really indicate they thought that’s what Morris meant.

This is a young, confident, excitable Bucs team that competes hard and has a true franchise quarterback whose potential looks unlimited. They aren’t the best team in the NFC, but that’s part of the fun of a parity-filled conference with only uncertainty in front of us.

Morris can say whatever he wants. It’s sorta awesome he’s even in position to consider saying that after seven weeks.

Every coach should have confidene in his team… if he doesn’t he shouldn’t be coaching. That being said I believe Morris got a little excited because rarely, outside of the Ryan family, are coaches heard uttering the praises of his team.
Are the Bucs the best team in the NFC? No. Are they the best team in the NFC South? Probably not… Are they a competitive young team that will probably get better and better as the season goes on? Definitely.

Igottz5onit says:Oct 25, 2010 11:04 AM

The funny thing is it might be true.

FinFan6886 says:Oct 25, 2010 11:10 AM

If he is that delusional, maybe he will eventually get a job with the raiders. The Bucs are much better than anticipated but to say they are the best team in the NFC after a comeback win against the ……Rams……is funny. Sounds like he wants to be like Rex Ryan and motivate his team. I still think this dude is a bad HC but the Bucs are doing well so far.

ManBearPig51 says:Oct 25, 2010 11:11 AM

I’m glad he sees the team as having the potential to be the best team in the league. It’s like a fighter that constantly says he’s the best in the world (even though he isn’t). Get that confidence going & have a winning season. Bucs fans need it. Great win by the Bucs, Blount seems like the real deal, hopefully he doesn’t punch anyone until the offseason. Let’s just hope he never takes a cab ride with Talib…

The Real Shuxion says:Oct 25, 2010 11:11 AM

A 25 point loss or a 1point loss. Either way it is a loss. Just like a 50 point win and a 1 point win are both wins when it all comes down to it.
This team is taking positive steps. Next year they could be serious NFC contenders (If they aren’t already, and if we actually have football.)

BroncosFan says:Oct 25, 2010 11:14 AM

Hey, why not. I still like the Packers and Saints to turn it around in time to give us the conference championship a lot of people expected all along, but there are at least five AFC teams this year that are better than anything the NFC has to offer, and the SB could be ugly. As for the Bucs, they’ve got matchups left against Detroit, San Fran, Arizona, Carolina, and Seattle, and 8-8 or even 9-7 isn’t out of the question. But I don’t think they’ll make the playoffs.

habibfromnewdehli says:Oct 25, 2010 11:16 AM

Gosh damn Roddy White… if only you learned how to catch/run routes a little sooner in your career, the Falcons might have went to another Super Bowl while Vick was still there.
But it’s awesome to see how much progress this guy has made. Truly one of the great receivers in the game, and I definitely think he’s making Matt Ryan look a lot better than he really is.
Falcons are beatable, but I think they’re the best team out of a pretty weak conference. Tampa Bay is right up there, though.
They play each other in 2 weeks! And after that, Falcons play the Ravens on Thursday Night. Both of those games should let us know just how good Atlanta is.

konaehukai says:Oct 25, 2010 11:21 AM

I’m a huge Bucs fan, but, Wha? I’m suprrised at where they are in the season, but the Best in the NFC? Sorry Raheem, denial isn’t a river in Egypt.

sethb22 says:Oct 25, 2010 11:22 AM

Once we start establishing that run with Blount in the next couple of weeks, Winslow and Williams are really going to expose secondaries. hopefully that will get the Defense some rest, so they can play fast like they need to. Go Bucs!
Blount’s-a-Blazin!

BucsFan1976 says:Oct 25, 2010 11:23 AM

@FinFan6886
How can you say Raheem is a bad HC? He’s doing wonders with a team that the ownership could give a sh*t about. they are the lowest in the NFL in salaries spent (80.9 mil) in a league with a 135 mil cap. All the Glazer’s care about is that damn Mansfield U soccer team. They won’t buy out the unsold seats, they won’t even ask the NFL for an extension each week to try to sell out the stadium. I wish they would sell to DeBartolo. He know’s how to run an NFL team. Glazers can go back to Europe for all I care. DeBartolo is not afraid to spend the bucks either.

Captain Jack says:Oct 25, 2010 11:24 AM

Being a Bucs fan, 4-2 is great. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. One week at a time. I don’t think they are the best in the NFC, especially after the beatdown the Saints laid down on them. They are up and coming for sure, but not the best……..yet.

Saints-America'sTeam says:Oct 25, 2010 11:31 AM

I hope he keeps on saying it…and believing it…and as Igottz5onit says, it might end up being true. I doubt it though. It’s looking like ATL is the best NFC team. Saints? Well, I couldn’t say. Yesterday made us all look at what we have here in New Orleans. Certainly not a contender, but a ton of talent. I am not going to say the Saints are the best because of our 4-3 record (two of those losses are teams which are ranked between 28 and 32 on any given day).
So keep on saying it Raheem. It may work for you…and it may even wake up the Saints.

kev86 says:Oct 25, 2010 11:35 AM

Name 10 guys on the Bucs without looking any up after reading this post. Name 5 if you get stumped after 3.

BucsbeBALLIN5 says:Oct 25, 2010 11:35 AM

Hey as a bucs fan for as long as ive been, this is GREAT. I love seeing that all this drafting is finaly doing good for our team. I have a good feeling this team will be good for years to come. Freeman has looked amazing this year. With two come from behind wins in the last 2 minutes, i know the teams werent great, but as a young QB, thats great to see. I think they make the wild card this year. This team is showing people how good they really are. So people……Be ready for this young gun team to do good this year and years to come.

Chest Rockwell says:Oct 25, 2010 11:40 AM

Please. The Rams gifted them that game. rams have more upside than the Bucs and would win that game 9 times out of 10. Bucs are on the right path tho….

Johnny Utah says:Oct 25, 2010 11:40 AM

Raheem’s statement may not be accurate, but it’s a lot closer to the truth than Mike Singletary’s playoff prediction for the 49ers.

marcduke says:Oct 25, 2010 11:45 AM

“Gosh damn Roddy White… if only you learned how to catch/run routes a little sooner in your career, the Falcons might have went to another Super Bowl while Vick was still there.”
_______________________________
Have you ever considered the fact that Vick’s inability to be a real(re: PASSING) Quarterback at Atlanta stunted Roddy’s development?

Steelerschick43 says:Oct 25, 2010 11:46 AM

Only thing I have to say about Raheem is this cockiness will only come back to burn him once again.! He can be excited but try and be humble at the same time..He had this attitude when the Steelers came to town and they were 2-0 after beating to crappy teams and we embarrassed them. Coach…be excited but be smart! Steelers are 5-1 but you don’t see Tomlin flapping his lips about it do you???? NOOOOO!
I like what the Bucs are doing but geez keep that OVER excitement for playoff time!!! Young boy will never learn!

FinFan6886 says:Oct 25, 2010 11:47 AM

@Bucsfan1976: I say that because of his actions…and his statements. I think he is a good defensive coach but he does not have a clue as a HC…yet. The Bucs are winning games because of their players making good plays and it is sometimes in spite of the coaching. I agree that the ownership is horrible and seems uninterested.

How’s he equate being best in NFC ,when they are the 3rd best in thier own division , it was just a mere week ago Raheem the Saints rolled into your backyard and stomped you 31-6 ,beat an elite team or 2 ,Carolina,Clev.,STL.,Cincy,those dont qualify as defining wins…

Ray says:Oct 25, 2010 11:55 AM

The best team in the NFC? Are you f*ckin kidding me? RAMS fan here. This is not a case of sour grapes because we lost, but Tampa Bay has a long way to go to make that claim! I watched the game yesterday. They make a lot a penalties! Good teams do not do that!

SFiDC says:Oct 25, 2010 12:19 PM

kev86 says:
October 25, 2010 11:35 AM
Name 10 guys on the Bucs without looking any up after reading this post. Name 5 if you get stumped after 3.
————————————————–
Off the top of my head:
Josh Freeman
Mike Williams
Cadillac Anderson
Kellen Winslow
Barrett Rudd
Stylez G White
Ronde Barber
Aquib Talib
Josh Johnson
Gerald McCoy

dlmcc0909 says:Oct 25, 2010 12:29 PM

The Bucs arent the best team in the NFC by any means, but if I told you they would have a better record than the Vikings and the Cowboys after 7 weeks, I would have gotten laughed at.
They are definitely up and coming

thehoodedone says:Oct 25, 2010 12:30 PM

At what point do we come to the conclusion that the salary cap actually hinders parity. Look at how closely played games have been this year when teams haven’t been forced to hang on to “dead weight” because of bad contracts.

bigstorm says:Oct 25, 2010 12:30 PM

The best team in the NFC = the fifth best team in the league.
The AFC’s best are way ahead of the curve.
How did the Rams let that one get away from the them? Not quite ready for prime time.

HandsofSweed says:Oct 25, 2010 12:31 PM

Yeah, Steelerchick. I love the fact that Tomlin wisely decided to “Unleash Silence” this season. It’s working out much better for us than “hell” did.
Here We Go!
But, yep, the Bucs are definitely improving.

LandlockedBucsFan says:Oct 25, 2010 12:37 PM

Yesterdays game against the Rams was one of the sloppiest most frustrating games I’ve ever watched the Bucs play. Although I’m impressed with the ability to put a dismal first half behind them for yet another comeback win…the Bucs have looked terrible in most of their games this year. They played mediocre against the Browns…decent against the Panthers…2009-like against the Steelers…decent agaisnt the Bengals…and 1976-like against the Saints. There are so many problem areas on this team. Raheem and the coaching staff had them in no way ready to play yesterday which was evident in all of the yellow that was littering the field. It looked almost as bad as a Cowboys game…but not quite. As a Bucs fan…I think that they may just win 7 games this year. If they would have played a contender yesterday ie: Pats, Steelers, Colts, Saints, Falcons…then it probably would have been another 25 point blowout. We are still a draft or two away from contending. Josh Freeman should definately have no more doubters…thats for sure.

Mikey says:Oct 25, 2010 12:45 PM

Sooooo, what he’s saying is his team is the 9th or 10th best team in the League. There are 8 teams in the AFC that could easily dominate any NFC opponent.
Best in the NFC this year Morris says… color me not impressed by that “bold” statement.

zam says:Oct 25, 2010 12:45 PM

The Bucs have a creampuff schedule. I thought they sucked and I still do, yet even I had them at 4-2 at this point in the season.
They’ll finish 7-9, only because they play maybe the only 6 teams in the NFL worse than they are.

realitypolice says:Oct 25, 2010 12:55 PM

Steelerschick43 says:
October 25, 2010 11:46 AM
Only thing I have to say about Raheem is this cockiness will only come back to burn him once again.! He can be excited but try and be humble at the same time..He had this attitude when the Steelers came to town and they were 2-0 after beating to crappy teams and we embarrassed them. Coach…be excited but be smart! Steelers are 5-1 but you don’t see Tomlin flapping his lips about it do you???? NOOOOO!
======================
I’m pretty sure if you posted an article on the Pakistani Cricket Championships, Steeler nation would find some way to make all about them.
Tomlin won’t start flapping his lips and none of you can stop.

FlyinO says:Oct 25, 2010 12:58 PM

They suck. Destined for third place in the South. Morris is an idiot. Every team (except for maybe the Cowboys) from the East is better than the Bucs.
Other teams better in the NFC:
Falcons
Saints
Seahawks
Vikings
Packers

JoeSchmoe says:Oct 25, 2010 1:00 PM

Look at Morris… taking a page out of the Rex Ryan coaching playbook. Good for him…
And the funny thing is this article on PFT runs side by side w/ the one regarding the Broncos/McDbag and the Bronco fans going crazy… Broncos PASSED on Morris! (Choke on that 59 points hung on you by the Raiders a little harder knowing this)

tian says:Oct 25, 2010 1:18 PM

If I was a Bucs fan, or a member of the management team; that would be exactly what I want to hear.
Plus, they aren’t playing bad football. They aren’t world-beaters, but they have won 4 of their 6 games.
And for a young team, that may be some good coaching to float that out there. Perhaps they’ll believe it, too.

smithopher says:Oct 25, 2010 1:42 PM

SFiDC – cadillac anderson played basketball, cadillac williams plays football for the bucs.
FlyinO – The Seahawks and Saints are not better, man. Seahawks are OK, Saints are drastically underachieving. Tampa Bay was able to beat Cleveland, not turn the ball over 4 times at home to get blown out. Saints aren’t even a top 10 team in the NFL right now in my book. With Drew Brees and the players he has around him, they can definitely make some noise down the stretch, but right now, they aren’t all that. The AFC has the best 5 teams in the NFL (Jets, Steelers, Ravens, Patriots and Colts are all better than anybody in the NFC) then I think Miami should be considered a top 10 team as well. Titans have a good football team. I don’t think Houston is all it was cracked up to be, they got hyped up a bit cause they beat Indy to open the season.
Anyway, my list of best teams in the NFC:
1. Falcons
2. Giants
3. Eagles
4. Packers
5. Saints

TampaBoy2002 says:Oct 25, 2010 1:46 PM

It’s easy to call this rediculous… but the Bucs are winning. And winning without really playing as well as they can most times.
They are bottom of the league in sacks yet have a top ten defense against the pass. They suck at stopping the run and can’t run the ball on offense either, but Freeman takes care of the ball and makes big plays when needed most. The defense has now pitched three second half shutouts in three come from behind wins for a very very very young team.

Okey says:Oct 25, 2010 1:49 PM

Just more positive proof that our “so called” HC is absolutley horrific at evaluating talent…… He doesn’t even seem to recall the Saints last week who are in the NFC showing him up so badly that it took a huge penalty from our opponent just for us to get 6 points on the board at the end of the game……{UGH!}
Keep making The Bucs laughable their “coach”….. Maybe we will get a REAL coach soon with true winning ability!!!

rarson says:Oct 25, 2010 1:59 PM

There’s confidence, and then there’s Mike Singletary. Raheem seems to be teetering slightly towards the latter.

TampaBoy2002 says:Oct 25, 2010 2:04 PM

Just more positive proof that our “so called” HC is absolutley horrific at evaluating talent……
WHAT?…. example one… E.J. Biggers, seventh round pick that leads team in pass breakups with six. Example two: Mike Williams, fourth round pick that was number one reciever the minute he walked into the building.

The Curse of Bobby Layne Part 2 says:Oct 25, 2010 2:38 PM

I’m a Lions fan (don’t beat on me for saying so)…..The reason I point out that I’m a Lions fan is that we supposedly have a “good” team now, and are moving in the right direction, but we aren’t seeing the ONLY number that matters, and that is a larger number in the wins column than in the losses column.
I am glad to see the Bucs playing well, putting wins in the win column, and seeing that Freeman is a great value pick over our oft-injured Matt Stafford.
I also was, and will continue to be, a big fan of LeGarrette Blount…I like his mean streak! I also like how he completely tore it up in the Senior Bowl last year and nobody even gave him a look. It’s about time the Bucs woke up to his capabilities!

Thribolde says:Oct 25, 2010 5:41 PM

Go Raheem. The butt of many jokes throughout the season, standing tall and making this almost absurd sounding claim seems like another unfunny punchline… Except that the Bucs have 4 wins and a fairly pleasant schedule ahead.
If the Bucs want to win, they need to keep the ball in Josh Freeman’s hands. He is the real deal and, with more experience, will learn to recognize defenses and audible into plays that will lead them to great success.
No passing game works without an established run, so Raheem needs to roll a fat LaGarrette and watch the show!
Maybe the fans will show back up, I personally don’t care, let’s make new fans by showing them a brand new product on the field.
Morris knows that his team is not being watched on television, no one even recognizes that they are playing this season. Whether what he said was right or not, he git some much needed and deserved attention to his young Buccaneers team, that has already overshadowed the projected and expected perfomances anticipated for 2010.
Go BUCS!!

nicalooch76 says:Oct 26, 2010 8:40 PM

Chest Rockwell says:
October 25, 2010 11:40 AM
Please. The Rams gifted them that game. rams have more upside than the Bucs and would win that game 9 times out of 10. Bucs are on the right path tho….
————————————————————-
cool story, bro. too bad the one time out of ten that you’re referring to was this season, where the bucs have the better record. your version was good too though.

nicalooch76 says:Oct 26, 2010 8:49 PM

This is a great tactic used by Coach Morris. The next day, he was challenged by a reporter with the St Pete Times to which he replied “stats are for losers, you worry about stats while we worry about winning games”. He’s had it up to here with the negativity in this town, as have I. He is attempting to turn a corner here in Tampa Bay. After the shambles Jon Gruden left this team in and the crap situation that the Glazers thrust him into, he’s taken the situation and he’s pulled every positive out of it.
Does the whole city know he’s full of it? oh yeah, but you can’t deny that we’re half a game behind the statistical best team in the NFC win-loss wise. Think about it, what do the pundits always say “good teams beat the teams they’re supposed to beat” and that’s what we’ve done. Two losses. One against the perennial powerhouse of the AFC, and one against a bitter division rival that always brings their A game to RayJay, and that’s exactly what happened. The future looks bright in Tampa, and a lot of credit goes to this man.